World on a Wire (1973) 2011

In contemporary times, the Institute for Cybernetics and Futurology (Institut für Kybernetik und Zukunftsforschung) has developed a groundbreaking supercomputer that runs a detailed simulation, housing over 9,000 identity units who live their lives completely unaware that their existence is merely a virtual construct. The program’s technical director, Professor Vollmer (Adrian Hoven), is on the brink of a colossal revelation but becomes increasingly disturbed and withdrawn before meeting an untimely and mysterious demise. His successor, Dr. Fred Stiller (Klaus Löwitsch), engages in a perplexing conversation with Günther Lause (Karl Heinz Vosgerau), the institute’s security consultant. However, Lause mysteriously disappears before he can disclose Vollmer’s secret to Stiller, leading to an unfathomable situation as none of the other staff at the institute seem to recall Lause.

In the midst of this turmoil, one of the identity units in the simulation attempts to end its own life. To maintain the stability of their artificial environment, Stiller’s colleague Walfang (Mascha Rabben) deletes the unit. Driven to uncover the reasons behind the tragic event, Stiller dives into the simulated realm, where he interviews a unique identity unit named Einstein. This particular unit is unique because it possesses the knowledge that their entire world is indeed a simulation. In a daring effort to experience genuine existence, Einstein swaps his consciousness into Walfang’s body while Stiller is engaged with the simulated environment. Einstein reveals to Stiller that the “real world” he perceives is merely a projection of a higher reality.

As this harrowing revelation sinks in, Stiller spirals into madness. The other individuals in this supposed “real” world confront him, threatening him with death or institutionalization as he attempts to share the truth. Eventually, he manages to convince Hahn, the psychologist at the IKZ, of his theories. Tragically, Hahn dies in an accident shortly thereafter, and Stiller is cast as the prime suspect in the murders of both Hahn and Vollmer.

Fleeing from the chaos, Stiller seeks the key contact that could bridge the connection between his simulated reality and the genuine one situated above. He endures multiple assassination attempts and ultimately discovers that the contact he has been searching for is Eva. Projected into the simulation after Vollmer’s passing, Eva is portrayed as his fictitious daughter. Stiller, fueled by a longing for connection, believes they once shared a romantic history. Eva reveals that he is based on the authentic Fred Stiller, a man who succumbed to madness from his control over the simulation in the higher reality. As Stiller learns that he is destined to perish in a scheduled ambush, Eva ingeniously swaps their minds, pulling the simulated Stiller into the true world.